Car-coupling



No. 618,754. A

,.E. c. wAsHBunN.

Patented lan. 3L' |899.

cnn couPLms. (Appnmmn med Aug'. as. 1898.

4 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

Zlfnesaes,

No. 6|8,754. Patented lan. 3|, |899. E. D. WASHBUBN.

GAR GUUPL'ING.

(Applietiun filed Aug. 28, 1898.)

'4 sums-sheet 2.

(Nn Modal.)

YH: mams paens co. mow-uma., wAsHmaTon. n. c.

N0. 6|8,754. Patented lan. 3|, |899.

VE. C. WASHBURN. CAR GOUPLING.

(Application med Aug. 23, 189s.)

(No Model.)

4 Sheeis-Sheet 3.

cams mans co., Pnofommo.. WASHINGTON, nA c.

Nirnn STATI-:s

PATENT OFFCE.

EDVIN O. VASHBURN,.OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

C'AR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 618,754, dated January 31, 1899.

Application filed August 23, 1898. Serial No. 689,289. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN C. WASHBURN, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Couplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains t make and use the same.

My present invention relates to car-couplers, and has for its object to improve the same in the several points hereinafter noted. The invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in the claims. y

The invention in its preferred form is illustrated in the accompanying drawings-wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views@ Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved coupler with some parts broken aWaya-nd others removed. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section of the said coupler. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the said coupler with some parts broken away and others shown in full. Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse vertical sections taken approximately on the line 034 x5 of Fig. 1 butillustrating different positions of the locking pin or dog. Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line m6 :c6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on the line @o7 x7 of Fig. 6. use of the draw-bar keeper or guide shown in Fig. G. Fig. 9 illustrates the draft-rigging for securing the inner end of the coupler to the body of the car. Fig. l() is a transverse vertical section taken approximately on the line :n10 solo of Fig. 9, and Fig. 11 is a transverse vertical section showing the draft-box illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 expanded or spread laterally.

1 indicates the draft-timbers, and 2 a portion of the bottom of the car.

One feature of my invention consists, broadly stated, in constructing the couplerhead and the draft-bar portion of the coupler in two parts and pivotally connecting these two parts together. In the construction illustrated, a indicates the head of the coupler, which is of the Master Car-Builders type and Fig. 8 illustrates a modified' is providedl with a vertically-movable locking pin or dog a', which coperates with a novel supplemental tailpiece on the tail of the knuckle, to be hereinafter noted. Said knuckle, as is ordinary, is mounted on a pintle a3, passed through the same and through the ears of the coupler-head. The head of the pintle as is cnt away at one side,ra s shown at a4, to cooperate withl a xed lug a5 on the coupler-head, as and for the purposes set forth in-my pending application, Serial No. 677,551, filed April 14, 1898, entitled Oar-coupler. The coupler-head is provided with a rearwardly-projecting tail portion a6, which-is formed at its end with lupper and lower bearing-surfaces a7 and with lateral sockets or spring-seats a8. Inward of its free end said stem portion a6 is provided with a vertical perforation or pin-seat a, and at or near its junction With the body of the coupler-head said stem is provided with -a pivot-pin seat d10. The portion through which this seat am passes is reduced from the body of the coupler-head to form shoulders au and is increased or made thicker than the tail portion d to form shoulders a.

The draw-bar portion b is formed hollow and at its forward end is adapted to receive the stem portion as of the coupler-head. The coupler-head is pivoted to a pair of horizontally-extended lugs or ears b', formed on the forward portion of the draw-bar b, by means of a strong pintle or pivot-pin b2, passed through the said lugs ZJ and the said seat d10 in the coupler-head. Under the bumping action on the coupler the shoulders a will be forced against the forward edges of the lugs b', and the shoulders @L12 will at the same time be forced into engagement with lugs b3 on the draw-bar h. This serves to distribute the bumping strain upon different portions of the coupler.

The draw-bar b is formed with upper and lower interior wearing-surfaces b4, that cooperate with the heretofore-noted wearing.- surfaces a on the tail of the coupler-head to hold thel coupler-head from tilting vertithrough the coincident piu-seats a and b5 to rigidly connect the coupler-head to the drawbar. In most cases, however, this pin b will not be used.

A pair of short but strong coiled springs 127, placed one in each seat or socket as of the tail a6 of the coupler-head and compressed between the walls of the draw-barb, tends to hold the coupler-head in its intermediate or normal position and the tail a6 of the same centrally of the draw-bar I). These springs 127 will, however, yield to permit the coupler to swing laterally on its pintle b2 to adapt itself to certain coupling actions and strains very important to be noted. For example, when cars are bumped togethei` or coupled on a curve the coupler-heads, being free for pivotal movements, will yield, so that their engagements will be the same or practically the same as it' the cars were on a straight line of track. With the couplers now in use intense strains, with a corresponding wear, are put upon the couplers in coupling on curves or in traveling curves when coupled. As is obvious, simply pivoting the draw-bar of the coupler to the draft-rigging will not obviate the above defect. It requires the couplerhead itself to be pivotally movable with respect to the draw-bar, so that on a curve the engaging portions of the coupled couplers may bear approximately the same relation to a radius of the arc of the curved track that they do when on a straight track to a horizontal line crossing the said straight track at an angle of ninety degrees.

Cooperating shoulders als and D8, respectively, on the coupler-head a and draw-bar b limit the pivotal movements of said couplerhead with respect to said bar. The pivot pin or bolt b2 has one side of its head cut away at D" for cooperation wit-h a lug Z110 on the drawbar, whereby said pin orbolt b2 is prevented from turning within and wearing its seats in the lugs D.

The lock dog or pin a is adapted to be raised by a novel device which, in addition toits pinlifting function, serves to lock said pin or dog in its locking or lowered position when the parts are in their normal positions. This devicein its preferred form is best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which c indicates the cembined lock and pin-lifting bolt or slide, which is provided with an inclined cam-acting portion c. This belt or slide c is mounted in suitable seats formed in the raised or bulged portion allof the coupler-head, through which the locking pin or dog a works. The lock dog or pin a has a transverse opening or passage (L15, through which the cam-section c' of the bolt or slide c works. At its upper edge the said cam-section c is provided with a pair of bearing projections c2, that are adapted to engage in succession with the inclined upper wall of the passage or opening alf. A coiled spring c3 on the left-hand end of the bolt or slide c normally holds the same in its extreme position toward the left, as shown in Fig. 4t, and in this position it will be noted that the straight or body portion of said bolt or slide c engages the straight bottom of the passage @15, and thus positively locks the dog downward in its locking position. From the left-hand end of said bolt or slide a chain or flexible connection c4 extends to the side of the car and is there attached to or provided with some suitable form of hand device (not shown) by means ot' which the said slide may be manipulated at will. This slide or bolt c is adapted to be moved toward the right by a direct pull thereon, and when thus moved the right-hand bearing projection c2 will iirst be brought into engagement with the inclined upper wall of the perforation (L15, this engagement being kept up until said projection has been carried a slight distance on the right-hand side of the center of the locking dog or pin a', at which time the left-hand bearing projection c2 will be brought into engagement with said inclined upper wall of the passage am. By this action the locking pin or dog will be raised by aforee applied always in the immediate vicinity of its axis or Vertical center of gravity, and said dog will not be forced laterally to the same extent that it would be if otherwise engaged. It is now evident from the description given that the bolt vor slide c performs two functions-to wit, that of lifting the pin or locking-dog and of locking the same in its locking position. It performs a third function in that it holds the locking-dog in its seat, so that it can at no time be removed as long as the said bolt or pin lifting device c is applied to the coupler. It must be seen that this pin-lifting device, specifically referred to as the bolt or slide c, while extremely simple and adding Very little complication, in itself has several Very important functions and very much simplifies the construction of the coupler, as it supplants several devices previously used to accomplish the several results.

The forward end of the draft-bar b is supported by and works in a draft-bar keeper or guide which permits the same a limited lateral movement. This keeper or guide consists of a transverse bar f, which is securable at its ends by means of suitable bolts and nuts to the bottoms of the draft-timbers il, this bar being provided with vertical extensions f', that extend between said draft-timbers l and are tied together at their upper ends by a transverse but removable tie-barf2. The vertical ianges or extensions f are provided with inwardly-projected sockets f3, in which the outer ends of stron g coiled springs f4 are fitted. These springs f4 engage the opposite sides of the draft-bar b and yieldin gl y hold the same in its central and normal posi# tion. Preferably the vertical extensions f3 are also provided with ribs f5, that are embedded into the draft-timbers lv to more sccurely hold the keeper in position, and to give increased rigidity to the parts nutted bolts IOO IIO

f f7 are passed through the draft-timbers l and through the upper portions of the vertical flanges f The arrangement just described is that illustrated in Figs. l, 6, and 7.

The construction of some cars is such that the draft-bar of the coupler must be thrown or dropped below the draft-timbers. The draft-bar keeper abovedescribed is adapted to be reversed to obtain this result. In Fig. S the said keeper is shown as reversed or turned upside down and directly secured to atransverse beam f8, which in turn is secured to the bottoms of the draft-timbers l. This reversible feature has an obvious importance. In this preferred construction the rear end of the draft-bar is extended or elongated by a pair of heavy draft-straps g, suitably bolted or otherwise secured together and to the body of the draft-bar. The rear ends of` these draft-straps g are pivoted by means of a pin g to a head g2, provided with a draft-bolt eX- tension g3, screw-threaded at g4 and again at Nuts gG and g7 work, respectively, on the screw-threaded sections g4 and g5 of the said draft-bolt g3. Between the nuts g5 Q7 a pair of followers g8 are placed on the draft-stem g3, and on said draft-stem, between said followers, a very heavy coiled draft-spring gf is compressed. A loose sleeve glo of such diameter as to loosely fit around the coiled spring g9 and to be engaged and pressed between said followers g8 is placed around the said spring.

gu indicates an ordinary lock-key which is placed through the outer end of the draftbolt g3, just to the rear of the nut ga.

The dra ft-box for cooperation with the parts just described preferably consists of an expansible two-part cylindrical box 7c, provided with depending ears or end flanges 7c', clamped together by nutted bolts 702. The sections of this box are also preferably provided with flanges 7a3 and 7a4, that embrace supplemental draft-timbers 705, secured to the primary drafttimbers 1. Long nutted bolts 7a are passed through the timbers l and 795 and through the flanges 7s to clamp allof the said parts together and securely anchor the draft-box. It is important to note that one section of the draft-box 7c is provided with longitudinallyextended V-shaped flanges 707, that engage correspondingly-formed grooves or seats in the other box-section, and thus cause the said box sections to properly aline or position themselves when drawn together. In case it is desired to expand the draft-box laterally spacing-strips 759 and 71;9 are employed, and these strips are provided with V shaped grooves 7cm and V-shaped ribs 7am, that are adapted to cooperate with the V shaped grooves and flanges of the box-sections just noted. At their ends the'draft-box sections are provided with segmental draft lugs or flanges 7tlg, between which the followers g8 work. The draft connections just described are placed in working positions, asshown in Figs. 9 and 10, andwhen so placed the loose collar 91 takes the place of intermediate draft-lugs with which the draft-boxes are usually provided. With this construction when the spring Q9 is sufiicientlycompressed either by bumping or drawing strains one or the other of the followers g8 will be moved against the same and force it against the other follower.

By adjusting both of the nuts equal distances in the same direction' the entire coupler may be adj usted longitudinally of the car without changing the action of the draftsprings. This is a very important feature, as it often becomes necessary or desirable either to project the coupler farther out from the car or to draw the same inward in order to properly locate the coupler with respect to the bumpers. v

When the bar f2 of the draft-bar keeper is removed and the pin g is withdrawn, the coupler may be removed bodily Without removing the rest of the keeper.

By reference to Fig. 6 it will be noted that the main strap f of the draw-bar keeper is provided with upturned flanges f5, which embrace the outsides of the draft-timbers land j prevent the said timbersfrom spreading.

The so-called supplemental tailpieceis best illustrated in Fig. 2, and in its preferred form consists of a short section p, which is pivoted to the tail of the knuckle at p and is so set that its upper surface lies flush with the upper surface of the pin-engaging portion of the said tailof the knuckle. Vhen the knuckle is closed, this supplemental tailpiece enters a recess p2, formed in the hub portion of the coupler-head, and when the knuckle is opened it will be carried under the lower end of the locking pin or dog a and will susstain the said pin or dog as long as the knuckle remains open. It is guided to the proper movement by lug portions p3 and p4, formed in the interior of the coupler-head. This supplemental tailpiece may be made quite light as compared with the tail proper of the knuckle, and by this construction the necessary weight of the knuckle is materially reduced. As shown, a projection p5 in the interior of the coupler-head limits the closing movement of the knuckle.

Attention is further called to the fact that the coupler above described is so mounted for movements transversely of the car that the coupler-head is capable of maintaining the same angular relation to the body of the car throughout these lateral movements. Otherwise stated, if a pair of coupled couplers are caused to move laterally or transversely of the car while on a straight track the outer faces of the knuckles a2 will throughout such movements remain parallel to the front end of the car, and thus prevent cramping and binding of the parts. Any construc- ,tiou which will permit of the movements above described I consider broadly new as IOO IIO

IZO

applied to couplers and desire to claim the same broadly.

It will of course be understood that the several features of my invention above set forth are capable of various modifications. In many cases it will neither be necessary nor desirable to mount the draw-bar of the coupler for lateral movements in connection with the coupler-head pivoted to the draw-bar; but in other cases it is very desirable to provide for these several movements in a single dcv1ce.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

l. In a car-coupler, the combination with a hollowr integrally-formed draft-bar section and means for securing the same to the car, of a coupler-head pivotally connected to said hollow draft-bar section, and provided with a projecting tailpiece that telescopes into the same and is removable therefrom by telescopic endwise movement, substantially as described.

2. In acar-coupler, the combination with a hollow draft-bar section, of a coupler-head pivoted to the forward end of said draft-bar and provided with a tail portion that works within said draft-bar and bears against the upper wall thereof to prevent sagging of the coupler-head, substantially as described.

3. Ina car-coupler, the combination with a hollow draft-bar, of a coupler-head pivoted to said draft-bar and provided with a tail portion extended within said draft-bar, and springs applied between said tail portion and said draft-bar rearward of the pivot of said coupler-head for yieldingly holding the coup- 1erhead in its normal or intermediate position, substantially as described.

4:. The combination with the hollow drawbar Z) with lugs b', of the coupler-head c1. pivoted to said lugs b by a pivot-bolt o2, and provided with the tail portion a extended beyond said pivot and having the sockets a8, and the pair of springs of in said sockets a8, compressed between the same and the side walls of said draw-bar, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a coupler-head and draft-bar pivotally connected together for limited oscillation, of means for rigidly securing said head and bar together, substantially as described.

G. In a car-coupler, the combination with head and draft-bar portions pivotally connected for limited oscillation, of springs applied to hold said head in its intermediate position, and means for rigidly connecting the said head and bar, substantially as described.

7. In a carcoupler, the combination with head and draft-bar portions provided with telescoping sections and pivotally connected for limited oscillations, and a pin adapted to be passed through coincident perforations or seats in the telescoping parts, to rigidly con; nect said head and bar portions, substantially as described.

8. A draft-barkeeper or guide having parts that embrace the same and adapted to be reversed or turned upside down to su pport said bar in either of two different horizontal planes, substantially as described.

9. A draft-bar keeper or guide, consisting of the bar f with vertical extensions f formed with the sockets f3, the tie-bar f2 removable while said bar f is in working position, and the springs f4 in said sockets f3 operating to hold the draft-bar in an intermediate position, substantially as described.

lO. A draft-bar keeper or guide, consisting of the barf,with vertical extensions f formed with sockets f3,the tie-bar]E2 removable while said bar f is in working position, the nutted bolts fif7 securing the extensions f to the draft-timbers, and the springs f4 in said sockets f3, acting on the draft-bar to hold thc same in an intermediate position, substantially as described.

l1. The combination with a coupler, of means for securing the'same to the car, involving draft-lu gs or projections secured with respect to the car, a pair of followers cooperating with said draft-lug, a screw-threaded stem or projection from the coupleigna pair of nuts or screw-threaded sections working on said screw-threaded stem and cooperating with said followers,l whereby the coupler may be adjusted longitudinally of the car, substantially as described.

l2. The combination with a coupler, of means for securing the same to the car, consisting of draft-lugs or projections spaced apart and secured to the car, a pair of followers working between and cooperating with said draft-lugs, a coiled spring compressed between said followers, a loose collar surrounding said spring Vand cooperating with said followers, a screw-threaded stem or projection from the coupler passed through said followers and said spring, and a pair of nuts or screw-threaded sections on said stem outward of said followers, substantially as described.

'l3. A laterallyexpansible draft-box comprising longitudinally-split sections and intermediate filling-pieces, the adjoining surfaces of said box-sections and filling-pieces having cooperating V-shaped grooves and flanges for alining said parts, substantially as described.

14E. A car-coupler involving a longitudinally-extended draft-bar mounted for lateral 1novements,and a coupler-head provided with a pivoted knuckle and itself pivoted to said draft-bar, substantially as described.

15. In a car-coupler, the combination with a longitudinally-extended d raft-bar mounted for lateral movements, and springs applied to hold the same in its normal position, of a cou pler-head provided with a pivoted knuckle IOO IIO

and itself pivoted tosaid draft-bemand springs to seid coupler-heed, substantially as de- Io applied to hold said head in its normal posiscribed.

tion with respect to said draft-bar, substan- In testimony whereof l affix my signature tially as described. in presence of two Witnesses.

16.Y A car-coupler involving a draft-bar eX- 'EDWIN C VASHBURN tended longitudinally of the car, and conneeted to the 'under portion of the body of the Witnesses:

sume, the coupler-head pivoted to the outer HARRY KILGORE, end of said draft-bzw, and :t knuckle pivoted F. D. MERCHANT. 

